Raspberry Swiss Merengue Buttercream

My son is 2 months old today! It’s hard to believe that he’s already so big, especially when I look back at old clothes he’s only worn once or twice or never. It’s true what they say: long days; short weeks/months/years. We’ve definitely reached the point where we can see his brain developing from day to day, each day doing/learning something new.

To celebrate I made a Funfetti cake that will be on the blog tomorrow. And the buttercream? Is there anything more heavenly than Swiss Merengue? It’s a tough buttercream. There are a lot of steps. A lot can go wrong. And really, it all depends on the weather. But gosh darnit, if this isn’t the best kind of buttercream – so light, fluffy and silky?

Swiss Merengue has become my go-to buttercream for all my cakes. The best part about this recipe is that the base is just vanilla Swiss Merengue buttercream with the only difference being half a package of raspberries. If you want to make vanilla Swiss Merengue buttercream, just leave the raspberries out – that’s it!

Fill a saucepan (large enough to fit your mixing bowl just a few inches, or you can use a double-boiler) with a few inches of water. Bring the water to a boil, then reduce heat to med-low so water continues to simmer.

In your stand mixer bowl, hand whisk the egg whites, sugar and salt just until combined.

Place over simmering pot and whisk for several minutes until the egg whites are hot (about 140 degrees) and the sugar has dissolved into the egg.

Place bowl on stand mixer and attach the whisk attachment.

Whisk on medium until whites have increased in volume and the outside of the bowl is just slightly warm to the touch.

Increase speed to medium and add butter pieces one at a time, and continue to beat until buttercream is glossy, smooth and thick. The buttercream won't come together at first and may look a little soupy, but just keep beating the buttercream until it becomes thick.

Add vanilla and beat until combined.

Throw in the raspberries and beat until the buttercream is a good pink color and the raspberries have been thoroughly broken up.